Green List

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I know in the past few years there has been this "green" movement. A lot of people see it as just another fad, some people do it because it's "cool," but others do it because they want to make this planet a better place. I'm in that third category.

Ok don't freak out, I'm not a crazy hippy. I'm not going to go out and live in a tree so it won't be cut down! I believe that God gave us dominion over the earth and that we are to be good stewards of it. Obviously we don't take the best care of this planet that keeps us alive. I'm going to go right ahead and say this too...I don't believe in global warming! There has been and probably always will be different cycles of hot and cold times. You're entitled to your own opinion as I am to mine.

But again, I think we're supposed to take care of the creatures on this planet as well as trees, plants, etc. It's simple, really. If we cut down all the trees, there won't be enough greenery to clean up the CO2 and spit out oxygen for us! We just need to do better, that's all. There's no reason to go nuts and live in a dirt house eating only greens the rest of your life. We just need to implement simple steps to take better care of the earth.

I want to give you a list of simple things to do that will save you money but will also contribute to improving the planet, your health, and the local economy. These are all easy things that my husband and I do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis.

My personal green list:

• Turn off the lights when you leave a room
• Don't turn the heat/AC on until you absolutely have to
• Buy local! Especially meat, eggs, and dairy products
• Use cold water to wash your clothes, trust me, they'll get clean!
• Unplug anything you don't use often like your toaster oven, blender, TV in a back room, etc.
• Buy curtains that help block heat from getting in/escaping through your windows. Like these. 
• Instead of driving around town, park somewhere near a lot of shops and walk
• Visit your local Farmer's Market on Saturdays. Spending $10 a week locally drastically improves the local economy.
• Take shorter, slightly cooler showers
• Eat at home! You save gas and money and chances are it will be healthier!
• Wash your dishes in the dishwasher, it uses less water, and it's less work!
• Grow plants! Any plants! You can easily grow garlic from an existing clove, pineapple plant from a stem, celery from the bottom of the stalk and many more! All of these can be kept indoors.
• Compost your food scraps. 
• Buy a reusable lunch bag and ditch the brown paper bags!
• Buy reusable sandwich and snack bags like these Snack Taxi ones!
• Reduce!
• Reuse!
• Recycle!

When it's cold, bundle up with fuzzy blankets and snuggle with your husband! It's mid-December and we have yet to turn our heat on! Ok yes it gets pretty chilly on occasion but I'm not freezing to death! Ok, ok...I know there are plenty of people who can't handle the cold but it's really not that bad for us! I like to say, "You can always put more clothes on, but you can only take off but so much!" So bundle up!

The more that we go to our local farmer's market, the more I realize how accessible farm-fresh eggs are! If you just commit to buying only local cage-free/free-range/organic eggs, it will be one positive step for encouraging local business and humanely obtained eggs.

We actually haven't started composting yet but plan to get a small composter that we can put on our patio. Something like some of these maybe. Or maybe I could make one like this. I really like this one called The Worm Tray. When I still lived with my parents, we always composted everything! It was just second nature to put food scraps in one bucket and recyclables by the door for my dad to put in the bins. We lived in the country so my dad used the compost for his garden and took the trash and recyclables to the dump every couple weeks.

It's not the most extensive list but start somewhere! Try to implement a few of these ideas into your routine this week!

Do you do any of these things? What would you recommend to someone trying to be more "green?"

Till next time,
Catherine